-true-to-life adventures of a practical girl living in a chaotic world with a peaceful Saviour by her side-

Summer!!!

And with that, the pages of another school year were closed. What happened? Did I blink? Maybe if I close my eyes and imagine…..(right now, I think all that would happen is sleep!) Another year has passed, and it’s hard to believe I have 2 years of teaching under my belt. (It’s kinda sad to say, but I think that’s that longest I’ve stuck with something, so I must like it at least a little) It’s even harder to believe that next year will be year #3. (Yes, I did agree to another year, and yes, I might be slightly out of my mind 😉 )

This may sound slightly sappy, but I’m truly gonna miss these kids…This was a hard year for me, but through it all the kids (and I) came out on top. We conquered a winter with almost no snow days, We conquered having a very full classroom full of 14 brains working at high speed. We endured the tight quarters, and having to at times sssqqquueeezzee behind someone else trying to get to where you wanted. We conquered having no winter sledding activity and rather learning to roller skate like the “olden” people did. They endured having the big scare of hearing their teacher was in the hospital for no apparent reason. (I still remember the weird feeling when I walked back in…a sense of relief of seeing she’s alright, and almost apprehension of what might happen if they touch or talk to their teacher again). We endured sick days. We learned long division, how to multiply big numbers, and we tried (this one was optional and it’s a good thing too) but we tried to learn Roman Numerals. We learned what it’s like to succeed. And we learned what it’s like to fail.. to study some more…and try again. We learned that friends are not always faithful. We learned that life doesn’t always seem fair. We learned that we all have different learning styles, and we do our best to adapt. We (or rather I) learned that a 3rd grade class of 6 boys can get rather “boyish” at times..Duh!

We learned that things left over in division is not revolution, not radiation, but rather…remainder. Got a chuckle out of this one. We learned that the Great Treaty was not a tree when …after being told it never ended, one asked me what would happen to it if it got struck by lightning. We learned it’s ok to laugh at ourselves. We learned that laughter helps our attitudes tremendously. We learned that the teacher’s favorite way to kill ticks found on students is to burn them. (heehee…my inner child coming out). We learned that movies don’t really have a place in class time. We learned that the teacher has buttons to push, and we learned we liked to find them and stomp them to smithereens. We learned that most of the time when you put your mind to doing something, you can usually accomplish it. We learned a lot this year….Can you tell?

This is going to sound cliché, but I learned something this year. I’m pretty sure I knew it before–it just really became clear this year. I learned that children have gifts. No, I’m not talking academic gifts, I know they have those as well. But as I watched my kids (pardon my possessiveness here) learn and grow this year, I saw character develop that I hadn’t noticed before. There were character growths right before my eyes, when it didn’t seem that there was any mental growth to be heard of.

-One has the gift of being sympathetic to the younger ones.

-One has the gift of making classmates laugh.

-One has the gift of encouraging the teacher after a long, hard day.

-One has the gift of creative imagination, and can make paper airplanes with the best of them.

-One has the gift of a smile. One look at the dimpled cheeks and my heart becomes a puddle.

-One has the gift of a cheerful personality.

-One has the gift of imagination….you imagine it, it can be made, with paper, tinfoil, tissues, etc.

-One has the gift of determination despite what all has been faced already.

-One has the gift of thorough thought. (think that through, though) 🙂

-One has the gift of inquisitiveness. The wheels are always turning in this brain….the scary part is predicting where the wheels will turn next!

-One has the gift of aiming to please. What the teacher likes, that is what is attempted to be done.

-One has the gift of finding something special in the little things.

-One has the gift of a good sense of humor. Something mischievous happens, I know where to look!

-One has the gift of being a peaceful mediator. When in the middle of a conflict, there they are, finding a passable compromise to make both sides happy.

-One has the gift of gratefulness and is always the first to say thank-you when something special is done.

-One has the gift of minding their own business. When class work calls, the head bends low, and the pencil begins to write.

-One has the gift of a willing hand. Where there is a need, there is a volunteer.

As I think through these gifts, and I think through my experiences this last year, I am grateful. Grateful for the Christian school we have. Grateful for where I am right now. Grateful for parents and grandparents that had this vision and saw it through to the end. Grateful for the freedom we have to teach about our Saviour. Grateful for every heart and little body God gave me charge of this past year. Yes, there may have been rough days, but there were also days and moments that made me smile and think, “This is why I do what I do!”

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of the last few days..

When you have what seems like mounds of end of year records to do…the time is nearing 6 p.m. and someone brings you a milkshake….YUM!! 🙂

And of course, the end of year water fight…Yes, I braved it…(finally) and yes, I was soaking wet by the time I was done!! For some reason, they seem to gang up on teachers…Hmmm?? 🙂